The oxidation of alcohols in the presence of a photo-excited quinone was discussed in an article by C. F. Wells, "Hydrogen Transfer to Quinones", Transactions of the Faraday Society, 57, 1961, pp 1703 et. seq. In a cylindrical quartz cell, a solution of isopropyl alcohol and sodium anthraquinone-2-sulfonate was shaken in the presence of oxygen while being irradiated by 365 nanometer light. The alcohol was oxidized to acetone, and hydrogen peroxide was formed. The oxygen uptake and the peroxide product were measured to determine the reaction sequence.
The use of glucose and oxygen as reactants for a biological fuel cell implantable in a human was disclosed in an article written by V. C. Wan and A. C. C. Tseung, "Some Studies Related to Electricity Generation from Biological Fuel Cells and Galvanic Cells, in vitro and in vivo", Medical and Biological Engineering, January, 1974, page 14 et. seq. The fuel cell was constructed as follows: a separaate anaerobic oxidation half cell is filled with a glucose and salt solution; a separate aerobic reduction half cell is filled with a salt solution, a porous glass plug connects the half cells; and either platinum or platinized electrodes are immersed in the half cells. The authors state that in order for the glucose/oxygen cell to be attractive, specific catalytic electrodes for glucose oxidation and oxygen reduction must be developed.
A glucose-oxygen biofuel cell was also disclosed in an article by J. R. Rao et al., "Metal-oxygen and Glucose-oxygen Cells for Implantable Devices", Biomedical Engineering, March, 1974, page 98 et seq. The authors noted that previous attempts at creating an implantable biofuel cell attempted to separate the glucose and oxygen naturally found in body fluids by means of selective membrane chambers around the electrodes. However, the authors developed a cell having a non-selective glucose electrode (platinum black), two selective porous oxygen electrodes (activated carbon), the electrodes being separated by hydrophilic membranes permeable to oxygen and glucose.